Karl Josef Walter

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Walter as an organist in the 1920s

Karl Joseph Walter (born November 14, 1892 in Wiesbaden-Biebrich ; † August 18, 1983 in Vienna ) was a German composer, cathedral organist and university professor in Vienna.

Life

Karl Joseph Walter was born as the son of the German organist and musicologist Karl Walter and his wife Katharina Walter, geb. Seibel was born. After attending grammar school in Montabaur, Walter learned the organ building trade at the Klais company in Bonn, but was more drawn to church music, to which his father had introduced him. From 1911 to 1913 he did his military service and in 1913/1914 he was the organist of the Benedictine Abbey of Seckau in Styria . In August 1914 he was called up for military service, an injury in September 1914 led to his final resignation from military service in 1916.

He then worked again as a monastery organist in the Seckau Abbey (1916/1917) and then until 1919 in the Klosterneuburg Abbey near Vienna, where he also directed the boys' choir. In Seckau, Walter studied Gregorian chant with Abbot Suitbert Birkle and then pursued further studies at the Vienna Academy for Music and Performing Arts from 1917 to 1919 with Max Springer (organ), Vinzenz Goller (composition) and Andreas Weißenbäck (music history).

In 1922 he was appointed cathedral organist at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna . Walter held this office for 23 years until the cathedral organ was destroyed by the effects of the war. In 1922 Walter founded the cathedral concerts at St. Stephan, which still exist today. In addition, Walter developed a lively concert activity in Germany. Concert tours have taken him to Germany (Weimar, Wiesbaden), France, Italy and Switzerland. During his lifetime he was considered the best improviser after Anton Bruckner .

In 1927 Walter was appointed to the church music department of the Vienna State Academy for Music and Performing Arts, where he taught organ from 1928 to 1959. Appointed full professor in 1933, he also oversaw the organ building course from 1928 to 1938 and from 1947 to 1958 . After his retirement in 1959 he continued his concert and teaching activities in private circles for students and friends.

Walter was married to the violinist Erny Alberdingk (born August 18, 1892 in Klosterneuburg / Lower Austria, † October 1, 1961 in Vienna) since 1920. Her circle of friends included u. a. Joseph Marx and Anton Wildgans .

Memorial plaque for Karl Josef Walter at the main gate of St. Stephen's Cathedral

Awards and honors

A memorial plaque was installed for him in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

Works

Compositions
  • Missa "Adoremus" , acc. A cappella choir. Böhm, Augsburg 1935.
  • Missa "Veni Creator" , acc. Choir and organ. Universal Edition , Vienna 1937.
  • Missa "Mater Dei" , 3stg. Women's choir u. Organ. Scheibl, Vienna 1946; Missa brevis for 2 parts. Choir (S - A in unison; T - B in unison). Scheibl, Vienna 1950.
  • Missa "In honorem St. Caecilia" , 2 S + A ac. Scheibl, Vienna 1954.
  • Christmas fair , according to Choir, folk choir (= community singing), wind instruments and organ. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1941; Scheibl, Vienna 1946.
  • Festmesse , gem.Chor, brass and organ. Doblinger, Vienna 1958.
Textbooks
  • Didactics and methodology of organ lessons (manuscript)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl Schütz: In memory of two important personalities of Viennese musical life. In: Österreichisches Orgelforum, Vienna 1987, issue 2, p. 78.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Walter, Karl Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Walter, Karl Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, cathedral organist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Wiesbaden-Biebrich
DATE OF DEATH August 18, 1983
Place of death Vienna